Door-latch



(Model.) l Y E. N. PORTER.

DOOR LATCH.

No. 287,715. Taxenont. so. 18831 'EE-gl- W1 TNESSES 2li-'775g I y 1N VENTO@ M N PETERS. Phm mmgnphm wnminmm. D. C.

.NiTRiD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

YRDwl/ALRD N. PORTER, OF BURLINGTON, VERMONT,

DOOR-I -Arcwf I o SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 287,715, dated October 30, 1883.

' Application med June 2o, 1883. (Model.) Y l citizen of the UnitedStates of America, residing at Burlington, in the county ofGhittenden and State of Vermont, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Door-Latches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description Of the invention, such as will enableV others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention is in the nature of improvement-s in that class of latches specially designed for light frame-work doors-such as screendoors; and the obj ect of the invention is to improve the construction of the bearing for they latch-lever and the latch-lever locking device.

Before my invention the latch-leverhad been sup ported upon a pivotxed in lugs on a plate partly covering the upper end of ahand-grasp or handle; and, again, such lever has had its pivotal pin sustained in a recess inthe upper end of the handle and backed by an underlying plate next the wood of the door. The lever has been locked on the inside by a hook attached to the inside escutcheon. Now, my

invention differs from these things in the following particulars: The bearing for the latchlever is the outside escutcheon, separate from and independent of the handle, and madein two pieces, which, when put together, constitutean apparently single piece, the lower or inner member having a recess, to permit the passage of the lever down into and through it, and forming a metallic backing for the pivotpin, and the upper or Outer member having a semi-tubular recess and slot for the lever, and its pin and ears tooverlap and align with the lower member, the two being united, and the lever thus securely held therein by screws or other fastenings.v The inside escutcheon is provided with lugs `or projections, to hold the lever-locking hook out'of engagement therewith, and said escutcheon is provided with legs and combined with and held in place by an inside handle of peculiar construction; and my invenof the plate i.

` tion herein consists of these details of construc- 5o tion, whereby the appearance, durability, and

effectiveness of such latches are improved.

In the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 'is a perspective view of "55` the parts of a latch containing my improvements in position. Fig. 2 is avertical section through a door and escutcheon on the near side of the latch-lever. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the inside escutcheon, and Fig. 4 is a 6o perspective view of the outside escutcheon,

dismembered. l I

The lever a is preferably made'rectangular, with the handle b lowermost, and with a ful-l crum pin or shaft,c, extending transversely 65 through the same at or near the angle,and

l having its longer arm d provided with a hook,

e,and terminating beyond said hook in a thumb-piece, f. The handle end of this leven overbalances the other arm, thereby making 7o hook engages automatically, to hold the door 75 shut, and from which said hook is disengaged by depressing the thumb-piece, to permit the opening of the door. Y

rlhe outside escutcheon, A, isV composed of a'base-plate, t', Vmade flat, and provided with 8o a recess, j, to receive the lever, .and with holes k k, through which the escutcheon-fastenings pass, and an overlying plated, provided with a parti-tubular slotted portion, m, which covers the recess j in plate-z', and embraces the 85V the ears u n, which overlap the plate z', and are provided with holes o o, valigning with the holes la lc in the plate t', thereby providing for the attachment of ythe two parts of the escutcheon with fastenings common to both. The n- 95 ish of the two plates i l is such as to give, a general appearance of singleness of the escutcheon, and affordsxthe latch-lever a metal- The plate Z is provided with 9o 3o the inside eseutcheon.

Io con, r, for which purpose said inside eseutcheon is made with two elongated legs, s s, separated by a space of a width slightly in excess of the width of the lever a, said legs straddling the lever on the inside of the door, over the i5 hole q, and said inside eseutcheon being adjustable np and down over said hole, in accordance with the play desired for the lever. This adjustment of the inside eseutcheon is effected 'by changing the point of insertion in 2o the door of its screw t.

On the screw t, I pivot a hook, u, acting by gravity to engage the under side of the latchlever, to lock said lever with its catch g, so as to prevent the opening of the door from the outside.

The door is provided on its inside with a stationary handle, v, for convenience in operating the same, and this handle has a foot, w, placed over and holding in position the legs of This handle has a sharp toe, fr, at the end of its foot, to enter the wood of the door, and a screw, y, at its heel,

to firmly secure it to the door. l The eseutcheon 1- has protuberances r', adjacent to the screw t, which extend out sufficiently far from the face of the eseutcheon to hold the hook u out of engagement with the latch-lever when turned up and away from said lever.

As thus constructed, it is obvious that the latch can be applied equally as well to a right or a left hand door.

1. The combination, with the latch-lever having the transverse pivot-pin c, of the outside escutcheon divided across its face and composed of the lat plate i, having the recess j, to permit the passage of the latch-lever down into and through it, and the overlying plate Z, provided with the parti-tubular slotted portion m, to receive the pivot-pin of the latch-lever, and with the plate i, form a metallic bearing for said pivot-pin, the ears a n on plate Z overlapping the plate z', and provided with screwholes, to align with screw-holes in said plate i, as set forth.

2. The combination, with the inside eseutcheon having the legs s, of the overlying foot w, provided with the toe x and handle o, as shown and described.

3. The combination, with a latch-lever, of

the eseutcheon r, made with protuberances 1",

to hold the hook u on said eseutcheon up out of engagement with the latch-lever, as shown A and described.

In testimony whereof I do affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDVARD N. PORTER.

Vitnesses:

CHARLES E. ALLEN, W. H. H. CoNNER. 

